In 2008, Stalley made his mixtape debut,
Goin Ape, with
Terry Urban. In 2009, he followed with the release of the new mixtape, titled
MadStalley: The Autobiography, and a newfound reputation as a force on stage. Stalley attended the 2010 Iron Mic Competition in
Beijing as the featured MC. Stalley was featured on
Curren$y's Universal/Def Jam album
Pilot Talk on the track "Address" (released in June 2010), as well as he featured on Ski Beatz's Universal/Def Jam projects– including
24 Hour Karate School and
24 Hour Karate School, Pt. 2. Stalley's
Lincoln Way Nights (released in February 2011) has received 130K+ downloads and reigned at number 2 for Bandcamp hip hop releases.
Lincoln Way Nights (released in November 2011) debuted at number 18 on the
iTunes hip hop charts and has sold 4K+ copies. His most recent mixtape
Savage Journey To The American Dream (released in March 2012), which reached 100K downloads in the first week, and was featured as the Stereogum Mixtape of the Week and the Spin Rap Release of the Week (7 out of 10). It was graded an XL by
XXL, and HipHopDX awarded it 3.5 out of 5. The mixtape almost entirely produced by Huntsville, AL underground veterans Block Beattaz. Stalley's debut retail single "
Swangin" featuring
Scarface, from his
Honest Cowboy, released on March 26, 2013, reuses a beat from
G-Side's namesake track "Swangin" off their 2008 album "
Starshipz & Rocketz", also produced by Block Beattaz. The music video was released on July 9, 2013, and featured a cameo from
Paul Wall. On August 8, 2013, following of his mixtape's release, it was met with generally positive reviews from critics such as
PopMatters. After it was revealed, it received a nomination at the 2013's
BET Hip Hop Awards for the "Best Mixtape Category". After receiving a great response from his label, he released
Honest Cowboy: EP to iTunes on September 17, 2013, which is on the same day as the release of the label's third compilation album
Self Made Vol. 3. On August 22, 2014, Stalley announced his debut album,
Ohio, and four days later, he announced October 27 as the release date. On August 21, 2015, almost one year since announcing his debut album, Stalley released a seven track mixtape, titled
The Laughing Introvert. On January 25, 2016, Stalley released his 7th mixtape titled
Saving Yusuf.
2017–present: Independent In 2017, Stalley released his second and third albums through
Real Talk Entertainment,
New Wave and
Another Level. In an August 4 interview with
Respect. magazine, he confirmed he was now independent. In continuation of his independent releases, Stalley released the
Tell The Truth: Shame the Devil in late 2017. The EP was the first in a trilogy, with Vols. 2 and 3 released in 2018. On November 1, 2019, Stalley released an album titled Reflection Of Self: The Head Trip, a collaboration entirely produced by
Jansport J. The album was self-released on his Blue Collar Gang imprint. Stalley announced a full-length project, titled
Blacklight, entirely produced by
Apollo Brown on the independent
Mello Music Group label. Set for release on November 19, 2021, the album has features from
Joell Ortiz and
Skyzoo, who both also separately collaborated with
Apollo Brown on their own recent albums. ==Personal life==